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BANCROFT   LIBRARY 

THE  SEPULTURE 

OF 

MAJOR  GEN.  NATHAN AEL  GREENE, 

AND  OP 

BRIO.  GEN.  COUNT  CASIMIR  PULASKI. 

I.  On  the  20th  of  April,  1786, 
General  Nathanael  Greene  was  in- 
terred, with  all  the  pomp  and  cir- 
nimstance  at  command,  in  the  old 
cemetery  in  Savannah.  After  a 
short  and  violent  illness  he  had 
died  at  his  plantation  on  the  Savan- 
nah river,  a  few  miles  above  Savan- 
nah, and  his  body  was  transported 
by  water  to  that  town  for  sepul- 
ture. As  the  boat  conveying  his 
remains  neared  the  wharf,  and  until 
his  coffin  was  deposited  in  the 
tomb,  minute  guns  were  discharged 
from  Fort  Wayne.  The  ships  in 
port  displayed  their  .colors  at  half- 
mast.  All  the  shops  were  closed; 
and  the  inhabitants,  suspending 
their  customary  avocations,  united 
in  testifying  universal  sorrow  at  the 
death  of  one  who,  among  the  Gen- 
erals of  the  Revolution,  occupied  in 
the  public  esteem  a  place  second 
only  to  that  conceded  to  Washing- 


ton.  The  procession,  then  formed, 
consisted  of 

The  Chatham  Artillery: 

The  Light  Infantry: 

The  Militia  of  Chatham  County: 

Clergymen  and  Physicians: 

A  Band  of  Music: 

The  corpse  and  pall-bearers,  es- 
corted on  each  side  by  a  company  of 
dragoons: 

The  chief  mourners: 

The  membeis  of  the  Order  of  Cin- 
cinnatus: 

The  Speaker  of  the  House  of  As- 
sembly and  other  civil  officers  of  the 
State;  and  lastly,  of  citizens  and 
strangers. 

Meeting  the  corpse  with  its  im- 
mediate attendants  at  the  land- 
ing, the  funeral  cortege,  about 
5  o'clock  in  the  afternoon,  took 
up  the  line  of  march  for 
the  cemetery, — the  band  playing  the 
Dead  March  in  Saul,  and  the  artillery 
firing  minute  guns  as  it  advanced. 
When  the  graveyard  was  reached 
the  military  formed  on  the  right  and 
left,  and  rested  on  reversed  arms.  In 
the  absence  of  an  Episcopal  clergy- 
man, the  funeral  service  of  the 
Church  of  England  was  read  by  the 
Honorable  William  Stephens,  and 
the  corpse  deposited  in  a  vault.  The 
ceremony  was  terminated  by  a  sa- 
lute of  thirteen  guns  from  the  artil- 
lery, and  three  volleys  from  the  in- 
fantry. In  the  language  of  an  eye- 
witness of  this  impressive  rite,  "the 
whole  was  conducted  with  a  solem- 
nity suitable  to  the  occasion." 

Contemporaneous  accounts  do  not 


specify  the  precise  vault  in  which 
the  coffin  of  General  Greene  was 
lodged. 

It  will  be  remembered  that  in 
consideration  of  his  distinguished 
services  during  the  war  of  the  Revo- 
lution, and  as  an  acknowledgment 
of  the  gratitude  entertained  by  the 
people  of  Georgia  for  his  conduct 
while  in  command  of  the  Southern 
Department,  and  especially  for  his 
good  offices  in  detaching  General 
Wayne  to  expel  the  King's  forces 
from  the  limits  of  the  State,  the 
General  Assembly  adopted  the  fol- 
lowing preamble  and  resolutions; 

"Whereas,   the  Honorable  Major 
General    Greene    hath,     since     his 
taking  the  command  of  the  South- 
ern Army,   rendered  high   and  im- 
Eortant    services    to    the    Southern 
tates,  by  wresting  them  from  the 
hand  of  British  oppression,  and  es- 
tablishing the   foundation   of    their 
independence  and  prosperity: 

And,  whereas,  services  so  glo- 
rious and  honorable  to  the  Uni- 
ted States  in  general,  and  this 
State  in  particular— services  which 
at  once  characterize  the  able  and  ju 
dicious  General  as  well  as  the  in- 
trepid asserter  of  American  freedom 
— call  for  the  distinguished  approba- 
tion of  the  Legislature  of  this  State  ; 

Be  it  therefore  resolved  ;  That  the 
sum  of  five  thousand  guineas  be 
granted  to  three  commissioners,  to 
be  appointed  by  the  House,  for  the 
purpose  of  purchasing  an  estate  for 
Major-General  Nathan ael  Greene  in 


6 


such  part  or  parts  of  the  State  as  he 
shall  appoint. 

Resolved;  That  the  said  commis- 
sioners be  empowered  and  author- 
ized to  draw  on,  and  receive  the  said 
sum  of  five  thousand  guineas  from, 
the  public  treasury  of  the  State." 

These  resolutions  were  carried  in- 
to effect  by  the  commissioners  ap- 
pointed for  that  purpose,  who  in  due 
course  reported  that  they  had,  upon 
the  sale  of  confiscated  estates,  pur- 
chased for  General  Greene,  at  a  cost 
of  £7,097  19s.,  Mulberry  Grove 
plantation,  containing  two  thousand 
one  hundred  and  seventy-one  acres, 
late  the  property  of  John  Grahame, 
royal  Lieutenant  Governor  of  the 
Province  of  Georgia. 

So  soon  as  his  public  duties  per- 
mitted, and  his  family  could  be  con- 
veniently removed  from  Rhode 
Island,  General  Greene  here  fixed  his 
home  and  gave  to  the  cultivation  of 
these  lands  his  earnest  and  intelli- 
gent attention.  In  happy  mood  did 
he,  at  this  time,  write  to  his  friends 
of  the  interest  he  took  in  his 
agricultural  operations,  of  the  attrac- 
tions of  his  new  abode,  of  its  gardens, 
its  flowers  and  forests,  of  the  mock- 
ing birds  from  morning  until  even- 
ing filling  the  air  with  sweetest  mel- 
ody, of  the  balmy  atmosphere,  and 
of  the  hospitable  attentions  of  his 
neighbors. 

Lieutenant-Governor  Grahame  had 
builded  a  family  vault  in  the  Savan- 
nah cemetery  and,  by  many,  this 
possession  was  regarded  as  appur- 


tenant    to  Mulberry  Grove  planta- 
tion. BANCROFT  LIBRARY 

While  the  proof  is  not  conclusive, 
the  tradition  lives  and  is  generally 
accepted  that  upon  the  conclusion  of 
the  funeral  services  of  the  20th  of 
April,  1786,  the  coffin  of  General 
Greene  was  deposited  in  the 
Grahame  vault,  which  was  sub- 
stantially constructed  of  brick. 
That  coffin,  of  wood,  strongly 
made,  was  surmounted  by  a  metal 
plate  whereon  were  engraven  the 
name,  rank,  data  of  birth,  and  time 
of  death  of  the  Revolutionary  hero. 
Here  all  that  was  mortal  of  this 
friend  of  Washington  was  supposed 
to  be  resting  in  undisturbed  repose. 

Anxious  to  testify  by  an  enduring 
monument  their  respect  for  the 
memory  alike  of  General  Greene  and 
of  Count  Pulaski,  the  citizens  of  Sa- 
vannah, early  in  the  present  century, 
endeavored  to  raise  a  fund  sufficient 
for  that  purpose.  In  1820  a  commit- 
tee was  empowered  by  the  Mayor 
and  Aldermen  of  the  town  to  search 
for  and  locate  the  remains 
of  General  Greene,  with  a 
view  to  placing  them  beneath 
that  monument  when  the  necessary 
arrangements  for  its  erection  should 
have  been  completed.  That  com- 
mittee failed  to  find  any  trace  of  the 
coffin  of  that  famous  General.  All 
inquiries  instituted  by  its  members 
in  explanation  of  the  cause  of  its  dis- 
appearance remained  unsatisfied. 

Deeming  the  visit  of  General  La- 
fayette most  opportune  for  con- 
summating a  purpose  long  delayed, 


8 


the  citizens  of  Savannah  invoked  his 
services  in  laying  the  corner  stones 
of  two  monuments — one  in  memory 
of  General  Greene  and  the  other  in 
honor  of  Count  Pulaski/  On  the  21st 
of  March,  1825,  with  appropriate 
ceremonies  and  patriotic  addresses, 
the  Marquis  laid,  in  Johnson 
square,  the  corner  stone  of  a 
monument  to  be  erected  in  perpetu- 
ation of  the  memory  of  General 
Greene,  and  another  in  Chippewa 
square  to  designate  the  spot  upon 
which  a  shaft  should  lift  its  enduring 
head  in  honor  of  Count  Pulaski. 
The  former  bore  this  inscription: 
"This  corner-stone  of  a  monument 
to  the  memory  of  Maj.  Gen.  Nathan- 
ael  Greene  was  laid  by  General 
Lafayette,  at  the  request  of  the  citi- 
zens of  Savannah,  on  the  21st  of 
March,  A.  D.  1825."  The  latter 
was  inscribed  as  follows:  "On  the 
21st  day  of  March,  A.  D.  1825,  was 
laid  by  General  Lafayette,  at  the  re- 
quest of  the  citizens  of  Savannah, 
this  Foundation  Stone  of  a  monu- 
ment to  the  memorv  of  Brigadier 
Count  Pulaski." 

The  effort  to  collect  funds  for  the 
erection  of  mortuary  shafts  is  often 
accompanied  by  perplexing  delays 
and  disappointments.  To  facilitate 
the  matter  in  the  present  insta-ice, 
the  General  Assembly  of  Georgia,  on 
on  the  30th  of  November,  1826,  pass- 
ed an  act  empowering  certain  com- 
missioners to  raise  by  lottery  the  sum 
of  thirty -live  thousand  dollars  "for 
the  purpose  of  aiding  the  erection  of 
monuments  to  the  memory  of  Gen- 


9 

eral  Greene  and  of  Count  Pulaski  in 
the  city  of  Savannah — the  place  al- 
ready consecrated  by  the  blood  of 
the  one  and  the  ashes  of  the  other." 

About  twelve  years  after  the 
laying  of  the  corner  stones 
by  General  Lafayette,  suffi- 
cient moneys  having  been  realized 
to  defray  the  cost  of  its  construction, 
the  monument  now  standing  in 
Johnson  square  was  builded  in  hon- 
or both  of  General  Greene  and  of 
Count  Pulaski,  and  continued  to  be 
known  as  the  Greene  and  Pulaski 
monument  until,  in  1853,  the  corner 
stone  was  laid  in  Monterey  square 
of  a  monument  in  honor  of  Count 
Pulaski.  From  that  time  to  the 
present  day  the  simple  structure  in 
Johnson  square  has  remained  conse- 
crate to  the  memory  of  Gen.  Greene 
alone. 

The  corner  stone  laid  by  General 
Lafayette  in  1825,  in  Chippewa 
square,  of  the  monument  intended 
to  commemorate  on  that  spot 
the  virtues  and  the  devotion 
of  the  gallant  Pole,  was  removed 
and  united  to  the  Greene  corner  stone 
in  Johnson  square  when  the  present 
shaft  was  there  constructed  in  joint 
memory  of  Greene  and  Pulaski.  In 
1853,  however,  this  Pulaski  corner 
stone  was  detached  from  the  Greene 
and  Pulaski  monument  in  Johnson 
square,  and  was  placed,  with  impos- 
ing ceremonies,  in  association  with 
another  corner  stone  beneath  the 
beautiful  mortuary  structure  which 
now,  in  Monterey  square,  by  its  pres- 
ence embodies  the  gratitute  of  sue- 


10 


ceeding  generations  and  enkindles  a 
generous  emulation  of  that  disinter- 
ested devotion  to,  and  lov.e  of,  free- 
dom and  right  which  glowed  in  the 
breast  and  marked  the  career  of 
Pulaski. 

It  has  been  suggested  that  the 
search  for  the  remains  of  General 
Greene,  instituted  by  the  committee 
appointed  for  that  purpose,  was  not 
thorough.  Judge  Johnson,  when 
writing  in  1820,  intimated  that  a 
more  careful  inquiry  might  have  ac- 
complished more  satisfactory  re- 
sults, and  hinted  that  the  coffin 
might  have  been  removed  from  the 
Grahame  vault  to  that  of  the  Jones 
family. 

There  is  another  explanation  of 
the  disappearance  of  the  remains  of 
General  Greene.  It  rests  upon 
tradition  and  is  not  devoid  of  prob- 
ability. The  Grahames,  who  adher- 
ed to  the  cause  of  their  King,  and 
who  departed  from  Georgia 
when  the  British  troops  were 
withdrawn,  were  necessarily  in- 
censed at  the  loss  of  their  es- 
tates, and  the  confiscation  of  their 
property  by  the  successful  Revolu- 
tionists. Their  personal  misfortunes 
intensified  the  hatred  which,  as  loyal 
subjects,  they  entertained  towards 
those  who  had  been  instrumental  in 
compassing  the  overthrow  of  singly 
rule  in  Georgia.  The  thought  that 
a  rebel  Major  General  should  lie  en- 
tombed in  their  vault  was  revolting 
and  harrowing  to  their  feelings.  It 
is  believed  that  some  member  of 
that  family  caused  a  secret  removal 


11 


of  the  remains  of  General  Greene 
from  that  vault,  and  their  reinter- 
ment in  an  unmarked  grave.  After 
the  lapse  of  so  many  years  it  is  en- 
tirely probable  that  their  present 
resting  place  will  never  be  discover- 
ed. 

II.  While  the  assault,  launched 
by  the  combined  armies  of  Count 
d'Estaing  and  Gen.  Lincoln  against 
the  British  lines  around  Savannah 
on  the  morning  of  the  9th  of  Octo- 
ber, 1779,  was  raging,  Count  Pu- 
laski,with  the  approval  of  the  Amer- 
ican commander,  attempted,  at  the 
head  of  some  200  cavalrymen,  to 
force  a  passage  between  the  ene- 
my's works.  His  purpose  was  to 
penetrate  within  the  town,  pass  in 
rear  of  the  hostile  lines,  and  carry 
confusion  and  havoc  into  the  Eng- 
lish camp.  In  the  execution  of  this 
design  he  advanced  at  full  speed  un- 
til arrested  by  the  abattis.  Here  his 
command  encountered  a  h  avy  cross- 
tire  from  the  batteries,  which  threw 
it  into  confusion.  The  Count  him- 
self was  unhorsed  by  a  can- 
ister shot  which,  penetrating 
his  right  thigh,  inflicted  a 
mortal  wound.  He  was  borne 
from  the  bloody  field,  and,  after  the 
conflict  was  over,  was  conveyed  on 
board  the  United  States  brig  Wasp 
to  go  round  to  Charlestown.  He  was 
so  terribly  wounded  that  he  could  not 
withdraw  with  the  American  forces 
under  Lincoln.  Delayed  by  head- 
winds,the  ship  remained  several  days 
in  Savannah  River.  During  this  time 
he  was  attended  by  skillful  surgeons 


12 


from  the  French  fleet.  It  was  found 
impossible  to  establish  suppura- 
tion, and  gangrene  supervened. 
As  the  Wasp  was  leaving 
the  river  on  her  wav  to  Charles- 
town,  Pulaski  breathed  his  last. 
His  corpse  became  so  offensive  that 
Colonel  Bentalou,  his  officer  in  at- 
tendance, "was  compelled,  though 
reluctantly,  to  consign  to  a  watery 
grave  all  that  was  now  left  upon 
earth  of  his  beloved  and  honored 
commander." 

Such,  in  a  word,  is  a  statement  of 
the  death  and  burial  of  this  dashing 
officer  who,  unable  to  win  the  inde- 
prudence  of  his  own  country,  lost 
his  life  in  the  brave  effort  to  achieve 
the  liberties  of  the  American  col- 
onies. 

We  have  already  alluded  to  the 
early  efforts  made  in  Savannah  to  do 
honor  to  his  memory.  They  culmi- 
nated at  first  in  the  erection  of  the 
joint  monument  to  General  Greene 
and  himself  in  Johnson  square. 
Subsequently,  the  corner-stone  of  the 
new  monument  in  Monterey  square 
was  laid;  and,  in  December  of  the 
following  year,  the  admirable  mem- 
orial structure,  designed  and  erected 
by  Launitz,  was  completed.  Early 
in  January,  1855,  it  was  committed 
to  the  keeping  of  the  Mayor  and 
Aldermen  of  Savannah  as  a  part  of 
the  public  property  of  the  city. 

Beneath  this  monument  were  de- 
posited human  remains — exhumed 
at  Greenwich,  on  Augustine  creek — 
which  were  represented  to  be  those 
of  Count  Pulaski.  Accompanying 


13 


the  published  account  of  the  cere- 
monies observed  upon  laying 
the  corner-stone,  and  also  upon 
the  dedication  of  the  Pulaski 
monument,  is  a  statement  by 
Colonel  Bowen  of  the  circumstances, 
traditions,  and  arguments  which  led 
him  to  believe  that  the  skeleton,  re- 
moved from  Greenwich  and  interred 
beneath  the  monument,  was  indeed 
that  of  Count  Pulaski.  Curious  as 
the  narrative  is,  there  can  be  no 
doubt  but  that  the  bones  unearthed 
on  the  bluff  of  Augustine  creek  were 
those  of  some  unknown  individual, 
and  not  of  the  Polish  cavalry  leader. 
He  did  not  die  at  Greenwich,  and 
was  not  there  interred.  He  sleeps 
where  the  ebbing  tide  of  the  Savan- 
nah meets  and  commingles  with 
the  waters  of  the  broad  Atlantic. 
Fit  resting  place  for  a  hero  of  such 
expansive  soul !  He  sleeps  where  the 
praises  in  honor  of  his  great  deeds, 
sung  by  the  waves  of  the  Savannah 
a?  they  kiss  the  shore  consecrated 
by  his  valorous  deeds,  are  caught  up 
by  the  billows  of  ocean  and  are  by 
them  joyfully  repeated  in  wider 
circles,  in  more  heroic  strains.  He 
sleeps  where  the  ambient  air,  fra- 
grant with  the  perfumes  of  a  land 
whose  freedom  he  died  to  achieve, 
tells  to  Atlantic  breezes  the  story  of 
his  martyrdom  that  they  too,  in  a:lad 
acclaim,  may  answer  back  to  the 
farthest  coast  the  greatness  of  his 
fame.  By  a  strange  coincidence  the 
beloved  of  Mars  rests  in  the  embrace 
of  Neptune. 

HI.  It  thus  appears  that  neither  of 


